After intensifying overnight, Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend early Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, pushing a wall of destructive water into coastal communities and knocking out power to tens of thousands of people.

In a 7:45 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Service reported Idalia’s small but fierce eye came ashore near Keaton Beach, about 20 miles north of Steinhatchee in Taylor County.

It was packing 125 mph sustained winds and headed northeast fast at 18 mph, but the real danger it brought was storm surge. As the sun rose Wednesday morning, the region was already getting hammered.

The storm was pushing a surge of Gulf of Mexico waters that could reach 16 feet in some areas. There were early reports of flooding from the heavily populated waterfronts around Tampa Bay to Cedar Key, another small Big Bend enclave. The NHC reported surge at 6.8 feet in Cedar Key early Wednesday, with floodwaters already filling streets and flooding some homes and buildings, water levels were expected to continue rising through the morning.

Livestreams of webcams stationed throughout the area showed roofs ripped off sheds near Horseshoe Beach, buildings completely inundated at Steinhatchee Marina and roads underwater in Cedar Key. Spots across the Big Bend region were reporting 2 to 4 inches of rain as Idalia moved inland, according to the WeatherSTEM network, with up to 6.62 inches so far north of the eye, near Apalachee Bay.

In the hours before landfall, Idalia’s maximum sustained winds hit 130 mph, Category 4 strength, but slightly weakened back to 125 mph and Category 3 — not a significant difference as far as potential damage. The hurricane had also spawned tornado watches and warnings across much of north Central Florida and as far as south Georgia as Idalia’s outer bands began raking both states.

More than 45,000 people in the Big Bend area of the state were already without power Wednesday morning, according to the Duke Energy tracker, dwarfing the 10,000 or so along the southwest coast reported in the Florida Power & Light tracker.

By 9 a.m., the hurricane center said Idalia had weakened slightly to a Category 2, with sustained winds near 110 mph. It was still moving north-northeast fast, at 18 mph. That will keep the worst of its winds short-lived for the communities under siege and keep rainfall from being a worse threat. It was about 20 miles south-southeast of Madison, Florida.

‘Very, very dangerous’

Overnight, the fast-moving storm jogged a bit to the northeast in a long-expected turn that likely will spare the state capital of Tallahassee from the strongest winds around Idalia’s relatively small eyewall. But the full fury of the storm will be felt in the Big Bend, a sparely populated swath of nature and wildlife preserves known as Florida’s Nature coast. Some residents there were still debating later Tuesday whether to ride it out or evacuate. The memories of Hurricane Ian’s deadly flooding in Southwest Florida last year persuaded some to leave.

“It’s not the wind. It’s the water,” said Brian Smith, a charter boat captain in Steinhatchee, famed for its fishing and scalloping, as he packed his car. After keeping a logbook of forecast changes and examining wind charts, he decided this hurricane was too dangerous to stay in his one-story home. He, his wife and the dogs were heading to the Panhandle. That appeared to be a wise decision. Record surge levels were expected and the destructive eye of Idalia came ashore not far from Steinhatchee.

At a 6:30 a.m. news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state has “all hands on deck” to confront the damage that Hurricane Idalia will cause as it makes landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region this morning.

As soon as the winds die down in the hardest hit areas, search and rescue efforts will begin, DeSantis said. Eight urban search and rescue teams are ready to go, along with 33 ambulance teams and 5,500 National Guardsmen. The U.S. Coast Guard is on standby.

The governor warned Floridians in Idalia’s path to stay put until the worst of the storm has passed.

“We just hope that everybody stays safe. Don’t put your life at risk by doing anything dumb at this point,” DeSantis said.

By 9 a.m., storm surge levels in the Tampa Bay area appeared to be leveling off and dropping, signaling an end to the surge event. The most inland part of the bay saw about six feet of surge, according to NOAA tidal monitors.

DeSantis said that the state is also keeping an eye on areas in Florida’s Big Bend Region that are expected to receive a massive storm surge.

“It’s going to be a big, big deal,” DeSantis said. “And it’s going to be very, very dangerous.”

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—Tampa Bay Times staff writer Jason Garcia contributed to this report.

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